Dark Shedinja
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Serperior/Reuniclus - The speedy Zoroark version!!!
A deck by: Philipp L.
Date: 5.14.2011
Latest set: Black and White
Format: HGSS-on
Foreword:
When I first saw a Serperior/Reuniclus build, I was amazed and even thought it was the best deck ever. You can move damage counters with Reuniclus and remove them with Serperior. But at the second look I knew, it has a lot of problems:
Fire: Reshiram is your worst match-up. It can OHKO you with Blue Flare. Also Reshiram is one of the faster decks in HGSS-on, so it is the main problem for Serperiors.
Set-up: 2 Stage 2s are hard to get on the field. You may get them in 3-4 turns, but there are some quicker decks in the format, which can set-up faster. They can exert pressure before you even got a Serperior.
Reuniclus: If it´s active, it´s an easy prize for your opponent. When Catcher hits the format, Reuniclus will be often pulled into the active spot by it. Then it gets stuck there with its :colorless::colorless: retreat. Reuniclus is a Stage 2 with 90 HP. Your opponent would knock it out easily, if it´s active for some turns.
Power: Serperior is the main attacker and hits with 2 Energies for 60 damage. You´ll need 3-4 turns to knock out some Pokémon.
I started to think about those problems, and how to solve them. It was clear that I had to speed up the deck, and so I included some extra Items and excluded Supporters. After a while, I thought that I had found the right build, but when I tested it, it was also clear that the deck needed some techs to compensate the lack of attackers. So I came to Zoroark. Foul Play is helpful against the big attackers and defeats them with their own weapons.
This is what came out:
Pokémon:
2 Serperior (Royal Heal)
2 Serperior (Leaf Storm)
3 Servine
4 Snivy
2 Reuniclus
1 Duosion
2 Solosis
2 Zoroark
2 Zorua
2 Sunflora
2 Sunkern
T/S/S:
3 Pokémon Collector
3 Prof. Juniper
2 Prof. Elm´s Training Method
4 Pokémon Communication
2 Dual Ball
3 Junk Arm
3 PlusPower
3 Rare Candyhttp://pokegym.net/gallery/showimage.php?i=50139&c=239
3 Switch
Energy:
10:grass:
This deck is really fun to play, because you are able to prevent your opponent from damaging you.
Strategy:
The Strategy is this: Get out Serperior and Reuniclus in turn 2 or 3 by a combination of Rare Candy, Pokémon Communication and Junk Arm, then remove all damage counters on your Pokémon with Royal Heal, Damage Swap and Leaf Storm. Try to get as many Serperior out as you can (preferably 2 Royal Heal and 1 Leaf Storm. Defeat Reshiram with Zoroark+PlusPower. To make this work, there is a heavy Trainer engine, and a 2-2 Zoroark line. The Sunfloras help you to get constantly all the Serperiors you need. This is a Serperior build which is based on trainers and tech. In my opinion, that´s the best way to run Serperior/Reuniclus decks.
Cards:
The Serperiors are the main attackers in this deck. Both of them attack for 60, so this can´t be the only reason why they´re used. Serperior 1 has the ability Royal Heal which means it can heal 10 damage from each of your Pokémon at any time between turns. That´s just like Nidoqueen RR´s
body:, but Serperiors ability is stackable. The other Serperior has an attack which is called Leaf Storm. It hits for 60 and it heals 20 damage from each of your :grass: Pokémon. Both Serperiors are the tanks of the deck, too. Usually they´re active, so the strategy is based on keeping them alive, while they prevent your opponent from damaging you.
Reuniclus. It might seem not to be reasonable to use Reuniclus, because there is too big a risk that somebody is able to pull it active since it has :colorless::colorless: retreat and 90 HP, but it makes the whole strategy work. With its ability Damage Swap it can move damage counters in any way you like. It works really well when combined with the Serperiors. If your opponent pulls this card into the active spot, try to retreat it as fast as you can, that´s why I´d use 3 Switch.
Zoroark is the Reshiram and Zekrom counter. Its attack Foul Play costs :colorless::colorless:. That means it can also attack with :grass: Energies. The effect copies any of the defending Pokémon´s attacks. Let`s say you copy Reshiram´s Blue Flare. First you wouldn´t have to discard 2 :fire: Energies, because there weren´t any of them attached to Zoroark. Then you would do 120 damage. There is just one PlusPower needed and you would knock out Reshiram in 1 turn. This is just an example. The same way you could knock out Zekrom, Flare Blitz Emboar or Cinccino. I highly recommend Zoroark.
Sunflora is for consistency and speed. Itspowr: searches your deck for a :grass: Pokémon. This offers a very fast evolvement of Snivy to Serperior which is important for the deck. I run a 2-2 line, because this way I can get it out faster, and there´s a much smaller risk that Sunflora, Sunkern or both can be prized.
This deck´s Trainer engine is very big: 18 Trainer - Items, thereof 12 for a faster set-up, + 8 Trainer - Supporters
Pokémon Communication: Combine it with Dual Ball or Pokémon Collector and Rare Candy, and you have a Stage 2 in 2 turns. Pokémon Communication replaces the rotated card Bebe´s Search. In HGSS-on this card should be played 4 times in every deck. I can´t think of a deck, where Communication isn´t needed.
Rare Candy: Since B&W rules, this card has lost some power, but it speeds up your set-up. You can abbrieviate your evolution by 1 turn. Everything depends on speed in this deck.
Dual Ball: Dual Ball speeds up the deck, because it can search for Basics without being a Supporter. That means, you can play a Supporter that you couldn´t play in the turn, because you´d have to get all the Basic Pokémon first. In speed decks, I would recommend running at least two of them.
PlusPower: For Zoroark to knock out Zekroms and Reshirams.
Switch: This card is the solution to getting a bench pokemon in your active position without having to pay a retreat cost. It's especially helpful when Reuniclus is pulled into the active spot.
Junk Arm: With this card you can reuse any of the Items you have used before or discarded with Juniper.
Pokémon Collector: With Pokémon Collector you get 3 basic Pokémon. If your opponent runs Reshiram you could search for Zorua; if he runs Donphan you could search for 2 Snivies and a Solosis. With Pokémon Collector you get all the basics you need.
Professor Elm´s Training Method: This card provides extra speed for the evolvement of your Serperiors. Its effect searches your deck for an evolution. This deck has 7 different evolutions, so Professor Elm´s Training Method is useful to get the right one in every situation.
Professor Juniper: This is the drawing Supporter for an Item heavy deck. I prefer this over PONT (Professor Oak´s New Theory), because most of the time you don´t need to discard Items, and with PONT, there is the possibility to get back the same cards , which you wanted to leave.
Techs:
Zekrom:
It´s hard to decide what´s the better Tech in this deck: Zekrom or Zoroark. I chose Zoroark, because it can use :grass: Energies for Foul Play. Zekrom needs :lightning: Energies, which doesn´t combine very good with the main attacker Serperior, since it needs :grass: Energies to attack. However, Zekrom is helpful against Kingdra and Mandibuzz, which have both :lightning: weakness.
Metapod:
If Metapod is on the field, your :grass: Pokémon have no weakness to :fire: anymore. The problem with this tech is that Reshiram still knocks out your Serperiors with PlusPower. In my opinion, attacking your opponent is a better way than defending.
Vileplume:
As you know Vileplume locks Items. The reason why this could be a tech for Serperior is that it is helpful against Reshiram by locking Energy Retrieval. It will also be needed, if you want to stop Catcher, once it´s released. Catcher will become a big problem because your opponent can get an easy prize with it, if he brings Reuniclus active and OHKOs it. Vileplume´s only disadvantage is the fact, that it would be another Stage 2 in this deck. The set-up of 2 Stage 2s is hard to handle. If you used 3, you would probably lose the track.
Match-ups:
Donphan: 60-40 Favorable
The advantage of Donphan is its speed. 1 Energy for 60 Damage as a Stage 1. The advantage of Serperior is that Donphan can´t hit Serperior as hard as it has to. Damage Swap combined with Royal Heal easily takes away 60 damage. If Donphan can´t get the deck down before you have some Serperiors on the field, this deck is definitely in favor. In my opinion Donphan has to tech against Serperior.
Cinccino-Tech Deck: 55-45 Even to Slightly Favorable
Ciccino is (in parts) like Donphan, but it hits for 100 damage, which means it can OHKO Servines. Cinccino is also a bit faster than Donphan. But if Serperior gets the damage lock, it´s going to be hard for Cinccino as well.
Speed Reshiboar: Autoloss; 40-60 Sightly Unfavorable to Unfavorable (Metapod)
This is the worst match-up for Serperiors. You´re still able to win, if you get your Metapod out in turn 2 or 3. This match-up depends mostly on the set-up, but fortunately this deck has a pretty solid and fast one, so there is a nice chance to win. If there wasn´t Metapod, you would lose this match-up in most of all cases.
Reshiboar with a 2-2 Lanturn Prime: 20-80 Nearly Autoloss; 55-45 Even to Slightly Favorable (Metapod)
This match-up works like Speed Reshiboar, but your opponent´s disadvantage is that this version of Reshiboar is a bit slower. It is hard for your opponent to get one single prize once you have your damage lock. Lanturn is a great water counter, but against Serperior it is almost useless.
Speed Zekrom: 40-60 Slightly Unfavorable to Unfavorable
If you don´t get donked, there is a chance to beat this deck. You have to get out Zoroark with PlusPower and OHKO a Zekrom. Unlike Reshiboar, Zekrom can´t get the Energy back so easily, which is the advantage of Serperior against this match-up. Until your opponent gets the Energy back, you can set-up, while exerting pressure with Zoroark. However, Zekrom is the number one Donk Deck in the HGSS-on format and you might have lost the game before you even started.
Conclusion:
I`ve been playing Pokémon for almost 2 years and I think HGSS-on will be the most exciting format we had in this time. There will be a ton of completely new techs and strategies. I write about this deck because it is one of those brandnew and fascinating decks and I think it has great potential. It might not become Meta, because it`s hard to defeat decks like Reshiboar and Speed Zekrom, which it will often meet at tournaments. But if you know the deck very well and get the damage lock fast, you can even cope with such challenges. Try it out, you´ll see it´s fun.
Thank you for reading and I hope you liked it.
A deck by: Philipp L.
Date: 5.14.2011
Latest set: Black and White
Format: HGSS-on
Foreword:
When I first saw a Serperior/Reuniclus build, I was amazed and even thought it was the best deck ever. You can move damage counters with Reuniclus and remove them with Serperior. But at the second look I knew, it has a lot of problems:
Fire: Reshiram is your worst match-up. It can OHKO you with Blue Flare. Also Reshiram is one of the faster decks in HGSS-on, so it is the main problem for Serperiors.
Set-up: 2 Stage 2s are hard to get on the field. You may get them in 3-4 turns, but there are some quicker decks in the format, which can set-up faster. They can exert pressure before you even got a Serperior.
Reuniclus: If it´s active, it´s an easy prize for your opponent. When Catcher hits the format, Reuniclus will be often pulled into the active spot by it. Then it gets stuck there with its :colorless::colorless: retreat. Reuniclus is a Stage 2 with 90 HP. Your opponent would knock it out easily, if it´s active for some turns.
Power: Serperior is the main attacker and hits with 2 Energies for 60 damage. You´ll need 3-4 turns to knock out some Pokémon.
I started to think about those problems, and how to solve them. It was clear that I had to speed up the deck, and so I included some extra Items and excluded Supporters. After a while, I thought that I had found the right build, but when I tested it, it was also clear that the deck needed some techs to compensate the lack of attackers. So I came to Zoroark. Foul Play is helpful against the big attackers and defeats them with their own weapons.
This is what came out:
Pokémon:
2 Serperior (Royal Heal)
2 Serperior (Leaf Storm)
3 Servine
4 Snivy
2 Reuniclus
1 Duosion
2 Solosis
2 Zoroark
2 Zorua
2 Sunflora
2 Sunkern
T/S/S:
3 Pokémon Collector
3 Prof. Juniper
2 Prof. Elm´s Training Method
4 Pokémon Communication
2 Dual Ball
3 Junk Arm
3 PlusPower
3 Rare Candyhttp://pokegym.net/gallery/showimage.php?i=50139&c=239
3 Switch
Energy:
10:grass:
This deck is really fun to play, because you are able to prevent your opponent from damaging you.
Strategy:
The Strategy is this: Get out Serperior and Reuniclus in turn 2 or 3 by a combination of Rare Candy, Pokémon Communication and Junk Arm, then remove all damage counters on your Pokémon with Royal Heal, Damage Swap and Leaf Storm. Try to get as many Serperior out as you can (preferably 2 Royal Heal and 1 Leaf Storm. Defeat Reshiram with Zoroark+PlusPower. To make this work, there is a heavy Trainer engine, and a 2-2 Zoroark line. The Sunfloras help you to get constantly all the Serperiors you need. This is a Serperior build which is based on trainers and tech. In my opinion, that´s the best way to run Serperior/Reuniclus decks.
Cards:
The Pokémon:
The Serperiors are the main attackers in this deck. Both of them attack for 60, so this can´t be the only reason why they´re used. Serperior 1 has the ability Royal Heal which means it can heal 10 damage from each of your Pokémon at any time between turns. That´s just like Nidoqueen RR´s
body:, but Serperiors ability is stackable. The other Serperior has an attack which is called Leaf Storm. It hits for 60 and it heals 20 damage from each of your :grass: Pokémon. Both Serperiors are the tanks of the deck, too. Usually they´re active, so the strategy is based on keeping them alive, while they prevent your opponent from damaging you.Reuniclus. It might seem not to be reasonable to use Reuniclus, because there is too big a risk that somebody is able to pull it active since it has :colorless::colorless: retreat and 90 HP, but it makes the whole strategy work. With its ability Damage Swap it can move damage counters in any way you like. It works really well when combined with the Serperiors. If your opponent pulls this card into the active spot, try to retreat it as fast as you can, that´s why I´d use 3 Switch.
Zoroark is the Reshiram and Zekrom counter. Its attack Foul Play costs :colorless::colorless:. That means it can also attack with :grass: Energies. The effect copies any of the defending Pokémon´s attacks. Let`s say you copy Reshiram´s Blue Flare. First you wouldn´t have to discard 2 :fire: Energies, because there weren´t any of them attached to Zoroark. Then you would do 120 damage. There is just one PlusPower needed and you would knock out Reshiram in 1 turn. This is just an example. The same way you could knock out Zekrom, Flare Blitz Emboar or Cinccino. I highly recommend Zoroark.
Sunflora is for consistency and speed. Its
powr: searches your deck for a :grass: Pokémon. This offers a very fast evolvement of Snivy to Serperior which is important for the deck. I run a 2-2 line, because this way I can get it out faster, and there´s a much smaller risk that Sunflora, Sunkern or both can be prized.The Trainer engine:
This deck´s Trainer engine is very big: 18 Trainer - Items, thereof 12 for a faster set-up, + 8 Trainer - Supporters
Pokémon Communication: Combine it with Dual Ball or Pokémon Collector and Rare Candy, and you have a Stage 2 in 2 turns. Pokémon Communication replaces the rotated card Bebe´s Search. In HGSS-on this card should be played 4 times in every deck. I can´t think of a deck, where Communication isn´t needed.
Rare Candy: Since B&W rules, this card has lost some power, but it speeds up your set-up. You can abbrieviate your evolution by 1 turn. Everything depends on speed in this deck.
Dual Ball: Dual Ball speeds up the deck, because it can search for Basics without being a Supporter. That means, you can play a Supporter that you couldn´t play in the turn, because you´d have to get all the Basic Pokémon first. In speed decks, I would recommend running at least two of them.
PlusPower: For Zoroark to knock out Zekroms and Reshirams.
Switch: This card is the solution to getting a bench pokemon in your active position without having to pay a retreat cost. It's especially helpful when Reuniclus is pulled into the active spot.
Junk Arm: With this card you can reuse any of the Items you have used before or discarded with Juniper.
Pokémon Collector: With Pokémon Collector you get 3 basic Pokémon. If your opponent runs Reshiram you could search for Zorua; if he runs Donphan you could search for 2 Snivies and a Solosis. With Pokémon Collector you get all the basics you need.
Professor Elm´s Training Method: This card provides extra speed for the evolvement of your Serperiors. Its effect searches your deck for an evolution. This deck has 7 different evolutions, so Professor Elm´s Training Method is useful to get the right one in every situation.
Professor Juniper: This is the drawing Supporter for an Item heavy deck. I prefer this over PONT (Professor Oak´s New Theory), because most of the time you don´t need to discard Items, and with PONT, there is the possibility to get back the same cards , which you wanted to leave.
Techs:
Zekrom:
It´s hard to decide what´s the better Tech in this deck: Zekrom or Zoroark. I chose Zoroark, because it can use :grass: Energies for Foul Play. Zekrom needs :lightning: Energies, which doesn´t combine very good with the main attacker Serperior, since it needs :grass: Energies to attack. However, Zekrom is helpful against Kingdra and Mandibuzz, which have both :lightning: weakness.
Metapod:
If Metapod is on the field, your :grass: Pokémon have no weakness to :fire: anymore. The problem with this tech is that Reshiram still knocks out your Serperiors with PlusPower. In my opinion, attacking your opponent is a better way than defending.
Vileplume:
As you know Vileplume locks Items. The reason why this could be a tech for Serperior is that it is helpful against Reshiram by locking Energy Retrieval. It will also be needed, if you want to stop Catcher, once it´s released. Catcher will become a big problem because your opponent can get an easy prize with it, if he brings Reuniclus active and OHKOs it. Vileplume´s only disadvantage is the fact, that it would be another Stage 2 in this deck. The set-up of 2 Stage 2s is hard to handle. If you used 3, you would probably lose the track.
Match-ups:
Donphan: 60-40 Favorable
The advantage of Donphan is its speed. 1 Energy for 60 Damage as a Stage 1. The advantage of Serperior is that Donphan can´t hit Serperior as hard as it has to. Damage Swap combined with Royal Heal easily takes away 60 damage. If Donphan can´t get the deck down before you have some Serperiors on the field, this deck is definitely in favor. In my opinion Donphan has to tech against Serperior.
Cinccino-Tech Deck: 55-45 Even to Slightly Favorable
Ciccino is (in parts) like Donphan, but it hits for 100 damage, which means it can OHKO Servines. Cinccino is also a bit faster than Donphan. But if Serperior gets the damage lock, it´s going to be hard for Cinccino as well.
Speed Reshiboar: Autoloss; 40-60 Sightly Unfavorable to Unfavorable (Metapod)
This is the worst match-up for Serperiors. You´re still able to win, if you get your Metapod out in turn 2 or 3. This match-up depends mostly on the set-up, but fortunately this deck has a pretty solid and fast one, so there is a nice chance to win. If there wasn´t Metapod, you would lose this match-up in most of all cases.
Reshiboar with a 2-2 Lanturn Prime: 20-80 Nearly Autoloss; 55-45 Even to Slightly Favorable (Metapod)
This match-up works like Speed Reshiboar, but your opponent´s disadvantage is that this version of Reshiboar is a bit slower. It is hard for your opponent to get one single prize once you have your damage lock. Lanturn is a great water counter, but against Serperior it is almost useless.
Speed Zekrom: 40-60 Slightly Unfavorable to Unfavorable
If you don´t get donked, there is a chance to beat this deck. You have to get out Zoroark with PlusPower and OHKO a Zekrom. Unlike Reshiboar, Zekrom can´t get the Energy back so easily, which is the advantage of Serperior against this match-up. Until your opponent gets the Energy back, you can set-up, while exerting pressure with Zoroark. However, Zekrom is the number one Donk Deck in the HGSS-on format and you might have lost the game before you even started.
Conclusion:
I`ve been playing Pokémon for almost 2 years and I think HGSS-on will be the most exciting format we had in this time. There will be a ton of completely new techs and strategies. I write about this deck because it is one of those brandnew and fascinating decks and I think it has great potential. It might not become Meta, because it`s hard to defeat decks like Reshiboar and Speed Zekrom, which it will often meet at tournaments. But if you know the deck very well and get the damage lock fast, you can even cope with such challenges. Try it out, you´ll see it´s fun.
Thank you for reading and I hope you liked it.
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